


That's the Tea

by wheatboyapologist



Series: Ba Sing Se Oneshots [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Crack, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, M/M, Rated T for swearing, and now he just kinda hangs around in the shop, jet is a little shit, jet never saw iroh firebend his tea, jin and iroh are very supportive, there is no homophobia in ba sing se, zuko is a horrible liar, zuko is awkward af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29617269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheatboyapologist/pseuds/wheatboyapologist
Summary: Zuko's too socially inept to know how to turn down a date. His solution: tell Jin that he's already involved with the nearest person in the room, who happens to be a certain Freedom Fighter.
Relationships: Jet & Zuko (Avatar), Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Jin & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Ba Sing Se Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194209
Comments: 15
Kudos: 160





	That's the Tea

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for "Jet never saw The Tea" AUs, so I decided to write one myself, even though it's literally just crack. Enjoy!

There's a girl in the shop. She sits at the table in the corner, orders the same thing (black tea, lots of sugar) every day, and stares at Zuko when he brings it to her. And Zuko, understandably, is very, very, nervous. 

No, not _that_ kind of nervous. Nervous as in _oh gods oh fuck she's onto me she knows I'm a firebender._

He'd talk to Uncle about it, of course, but Jet's within earshot, lounging on top of the counter like he owns the place. Pao would probably kick him out if he were here. But the owner's taking a day off, which means Uncle's in charge, and he seems to have no problem with Jet's infuriating (but not entirely unwelcome, Zuko will grudgingly admit) presence. 

Speaking of Jet...

"Hey. Hey, Li," the teenager says, beckoning him over from his perch. Zuko's noticed that he always tends to climb whatever the highest thing is in the room and sit on it like some kind of cat-bird. There's a mischievous glint in his eyes that Zuko knows means trouble. 

"What," Zuko says flatly. 

"C'mere."

"Why?"

"Just get over here, I got something to tell you."

Zuko sighs and finishes clearing another customer's table, setting the teapot and cups on a tray. He walks over to Jet, who's now removed the ever-present piece of wheat from his mouth and twirling it between his fingers. 

"What," Zuko says again as he puts away the dishes. 

Jet leans in close to him and whispers conspiratorially, "See that girl over there?"

Zuko doesn't even have to turn around to know who he's talking about. "Yeah. What about her?"

"She's in here a lot, don'tcha think?"

"I guess." 

Jet arches an eyebrow. "Wonder why that is?"

"I don't care."

"I think she likes me."

Zuko snorts. "Oh yeah, for sure. 'Cause you're so-"

"Thank you for the tea," a voice that's definitely not Jet says, right behind him. Startled, Zuko fumbles the cup he's holding and it crashes to the ground and shatters. Jet snickers. Zuko turns to kick him in the shin. 

"What's your name?" 

Of course it's _her_. Zuko really hopes she didn't overhear their conversation. 

"Li," he answers. Hopefully he sounds confident and Earth Kingdom enough. He's always been kind of a shitty liar. And Jet won't stop _laughing_ , the bastard. "My uncle and I just moved here." 

"Hi, Li." The girl smiles. "My name's Jin. Thank you, and well, I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?"

_Huh?_

He can't process the question, however, 'cause Jet's _losing it_ , sliding away from the two of them and collapsing into silent mirth. Zuko doesn't understand what's so goddamn funny about this. He glares at Jet, trying to convey _shut the hell up or I'll make you do dishes for the next month_ with his eyes. 

"It's okay if you don't," Jin quickly says, turning Zuko's attention back to her. She looks sort of hurt, even though she's still smiling. Oh, no. "I get it. You don't have to-"

"No! I don't mean that," Zuko says, feeling like kind of a jerk. "It's not that I don't want to go out or anything, it's just..." Just that his life's fucked up and he'll never get to go home? Just that he's failed his duty as Prince and will never regain his honor? Just that he's stuck in this shithole of a city, serving _tea_ , while Azula gets all the glory, and he can't afford to let anyone too close to him or he'll somehow be outed as a firebender?

He definitely can't say any of that. What do normal, non-princely boys say when they're turning down a date?

He thinks of Mai, his kind-of-sort-of-not-really-girlfriend from back home, and gets an idea. 

"I'm seeing someone else," he tells Jin. 

"Oh!" she exclaims, and she doesn't look so wounded anymore. More curious, if anything. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. Do you mind if I ask who?"

And this is why Zuko should never act on his ideas. He abruptly realizes that he can't tell her about Mai without digging a deeper hole for himself. The more he talks, the more inconsistent his lies will get, and then he'll be fucked. But if he keeps stalling, he'll look even _more_ suspicious. 

There's a wheezing sound to the right of him, and his gaze locks on Jet, who's still trying to catch his breath. 

"Him," Zuko blurts, pointing to the other boy. Jin's head turns - no, _snaps_ in his direction, almost comically fast. 

What? Where the fuck did _that_ come from? 

" _Me?_ " Jet's finally stopped laughing and now he's staring at Zuko, perplexed. "Did you just say..."

Well, whatever that was, it's too late to take it back. He's gotta run with it. "Help me out," he mouths at Jet. "Come on."

Jet shakes his head fractionally. _No way._

Now desperate, Zuko sticks his hand beneath the counter display and rummages around until he finds what he's looking for. He holds up a lemon ginger cookie, the kind Jet always tries to steal when no one's looking. "Free," he mouths. "Free for life."

Oh, Agni. Pao's going to murder him. 

Jet seems to get the message, though. He grins crookedly at Jin, hops off the counter, snatches the cookie from Zuko's hand, and slings an arm around him. 

"Yep. Unfortunately for you, Li's hopelessly in love with me," he drawls, his breath close to Zuko's good ear. Zuko can feel his face heating up although he doesn't know (and _really_ doesn't want to think about) why. 

"You guys are so cute together!" Jin all but squeals. "How long has it been?"

"About a week," Jet says, entirely too sure of himself, and Zuko can't help but marvel at his skillful lying. Then his grin turns malicious, and Zuko's barely braced himself before Jet starts talking again. "I'll tell you how it happened. So I hang out here a lot, you know? And apparently Li just couldn't keep his _eyes_ off me. He told me I was...what was it? Oh, right, _distracting_ him. So then I go, 'I can _really_ distract you, if you want', and I know how stupid that sounds, but Li here ate it right up. He turned so red. You should have seen it, it was fucking hilarious. And then he was all like 'Oh, _Jet_ , I've wanted you so bad ever since the moment I saw you, _please_ kiss me!' And how could I say no to that?"

That _motherfucker_. In hindsight, Zuko should have expected nothing less from the other boy. He's starting to think he should have just gone out with Jin. He can already tell that Jet's going to tease him for _ages_ about this. 

Jin looks between the two of them, smiling even wider. Zuko wonders if her cheeks hurt. "That's so _romantic_!"

"Yeah," Jet says, somehow keeping a straight face. "He doesn't look like it, but Li's a real sap."

As if things couldn't get any worse, Uncle steps out of the kitchen at that moment. "I could not help but overhear," he says, beaming with pride. "Nephew, I just want to say that I am so happy for you! I am glad that you could find love, even in these dire times. Such a handsome, charming young man, too!" he adds, addressing Jet. 

Zuko, like the mature, calm, totally-not-overdramatic teenager he is, buries his face in his hands and wishes the ground would swallow him up. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
